Electronic healthcare management form creation

ABSTRACT

Certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a method for creating an electronic form for use in healthcare management. The method can comprise initiating generation of at least one display image supporting a user in: selecting a template form from a repository of template forms; modifying said selected template form by linking a user selected object from a predetermined list of objects with a user selected data field of said selected template form, objects in said predetermined list being associated with at least one of, (a) a particular role of a healthcare worker and (b) a particular activity being performed in providing healthcare to a patient, said selected object being usable in determining a query to be used in soliciting data for entry in said user selected data field; and associating a name with said modified form. The method can also comprise storing said modified form in response to user command. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. This abstract is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. 37 CFR 1.72(b).

This application claims priority to pending provisional U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 60/364,540, titled “Cardiology Form Builder andDisplay Tool,” filed Mar. 16, 2002, now abandoned. This application isrelated to concurrently filed co-pending application, entitled“Electronic Healthcare Management Form Navigation,” Ser. No. 10/383,299.

BACKGROUND

Computer systems have been employed to better manage the delivery ofhealthcare to patients, documentation of recommended and providedhealthcare, billing for healthcare services, etc. Yet all too often, theuser interfaces for such healthcare computer systems suffer from poordesign, requiring users to abandon familiarity with paper-based formsand learn new layouts for data entry. Moreover, traditionalcomputer-based layouts frequently do not reflect detailed understandingof the healthcare workflow, and can be difficult to re-design whenhealthcare workflow patterns change. Such misunderstandings of workflowscan result in duplication of data, requiring more storage space thanoptimally required. Further, traditional computer-based layoutsfrequently prove difficult to navigate, particularly for navigatingbetween features of various anatomical systems. Such sub-optimalnavigational aspects can needlessly waste network and/or processorbandwidth when users navigate incorrectly between layouts.

SUMMARY

Certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a methodfor creating an electronic form for use in healthcare management. Themethod can comprise initiating generation of at least one display imagesupporting a user in: selecting a template form from a repository oftemplate forms; modifying said selected template form by linking a userselected object from a predetermined list of objects with a userselected data field of said selected template form, objects in saidpredetermined list being associated with at least one of, (a) aparticular role of a healthcare worker and (b) a particular activitybeing performed in providing healthcare to a patient, said selectedobject being usable in determining a query to be used in soliciting datafor entry in said user selected data field; and associating a name withsaid modified form. The method can also comprise storing said modifiedform in response to user command.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention and its wide variety of potential embodiments will bereadily understood via the following detailed description of certainexemplary embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a method 1000 ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a method 2000 ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a method 3000 ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a method 4000 ofthe present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a system 5000 ofthe present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of an informationdevice 6000 of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a user interface 7000of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a user interface 8000of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a user interface 9000of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a user interface10000 of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a user interface11000 of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a user interface12000 of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a user interface13000 of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a user interface14000 of the present invention; and

FIG. 15 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a user interface15000 of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a method 1000 ofthe present invention. Note that although various activities arepresented in a numbered sequence, and are connected with arrows to anexemplary embodiment of method 1000, there is no general requirementthat the activities be performed in any particular order or anyparticular number of times, or that all activities be performed.Moreover, any activity can be performed automatically and/or manually.Also, any activity can be combined and/or performed in conjunction withany activity of any other method described herein.

At activity 1100, a traditional paper form, such as any paper formcommonly used in healthcare management, may be scanned. Once generatedvia the scanning process, the resulting image may be stored as anelectronic template form in a repository of forms.

At activity 1200, a particular template form from a plurality oftemplate forms in a forms repository may be selected and an imagerepresenting the template form may be rendered (as used herein, the word“rendered” means made perceptible to a human, via for example any visualand/or audio means, such as via a display, a monitor, electric paper, anocular implant, a speaker, a cochlear implant, etc.). A user may thenmodify the form by selecting a portion of the form that is of interest,and creating an template data field that may appear to overlay orunderlay the portion of interest. For example, via a graphical userinterface, a user may create a template data field called “telephonenumber” by using a selection tool to draw and/or define a selectionrectangle having borders that at least roughly correspond to the bordersof a telephone number “box” that is part of the apparently underlyingimage.

At activity 1300, the template form may be modified by linking aselected template data field, such as the field created in the precedingparagraph, to a user-selected object. The object may be selected from alist of objects. The list of objects may be created beforehand. Increating an object, a user may select a related object from the list andmodify that related object to reflect the attributes of the desiredobject, then name and save the desired object, such that the name of thedesired object is displayed along with the names of other objects whenthe list of objects is rendered. A saved object may be saved to a localdirectory and/or database and/or to a remote directory and/or database,such as a drive and/or database connected via a network, such as theInternet, an intranet, a public switched network, a private network,etc. A link to the saved object may be any form of link, such as ahyperlink and/or URL.

In certain embodiments, the list of objects may be categorized and/ormay present a particular category of objects. For example, the list maybe associated with a particular role and/or title of a healthcareworker, such as “Admissions Administrator” or “Cardiac Care Nurse”. Asanother example, the list may be associated with a particular activityto be performed in providing healthcare to a patient, such as forexample, admitting the patient to a healthcare facility, or fulfilling alaboratory testing request for the patient, or administering medicationto the patient. Thus, an object may be assigned to a categoryrepresenting, for example, a worker role, worker title, and/orhealthcare activity, etc., and the list may reflect that category and/orcategorization.

In certain embodiments, the user-selected object may be created byselecting a name, data type, data length, and/or action for the object,etc. Once created, the object may be saved. The object may be related toother items in the list before, during, and/or after creation of theobject.

In certain embodiments, the user-selected object may be usable forentering data into a database. For example, a template data fieldlabeled “home telephone number” may be linked to a field in a patientdatabase for home telephone number. Thus, data entered for the templatedata field via the template form may be transferred to one or moredatabases, potentially depending on a particular role and/or title of ahealthcare worker, and/or a particular activity that has been or will beperformed in providing healthcare to a patient.

In certain embodiments, the user-selected object may be usable fordetermining a query to be used for soliciting data for entry in the userselected data field. For example, in a data field called “home telephonenumber”, a query may be rendered indicating “What is the patient's hometelephone number, including area code?” As another example, in a datafield called “patient oral temperature”, a query may be renderedindicating “What is the patient's oral temperature, in degreesFahrenheit?” In certain embodiments, the user-selected object may beuseable for forming a query of data associated with the user selecteddata field.

At activity 1400, a name may be associated with the modified form, suchas for example, “New Patient Admission Form” or “MedicationAdministration Record”. In certain embodiments, the name may besuggested to a user. In certain embodiments, the user may provide thename. At activity 1500, in response to a user command, the modified formmay be stored in the forms repository.

In certain embodiments, when a user selects the modified form, the formmay be associated with a particular patient and/or a particularhealthcare worker. Thus, for example, if the identity of the patient isknown, the form may be at least partially pre-populated with dataregarding the patient when the form is selected. Similarly, if theidentity of the healthcare worker is known, the form may be at leastpartially pre-populated with data regarding the healthcare worker.Alternatively, if the identity of the patient and/or healthcare workerbecomes known after opening of the form, the form may be at leastpartially populated, as appropriate, with data regarding that person.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a method 2000 ofthe present invention. Note that although various activities arepresented in a numbered sequence, and are connected with arrows to anexemplary embodiment of method 2000, there is no general requirementthat the activities be performed in any particular order or anyparticular number of times, or that all activities be performed.Moreover, any activity may be performed automatically and/or manually.Also, any activity may be combined and/or performed in conjunction withany activity of any other method described herein.

At activity 2100, patient information may be received. Such informationmay be received via any means, including for example, keyboard entry,voice-entry, selection from a list of patients, push technology,activation of a hyperlink contained in an e-mail message, etc.

At activity 2200, a template form may be retrieved for scheduling avisit. The template form may be user-selected via for example agraphical user interface, and/or associated with a visit schedulingactivity and/or object.

At activity 2300, in response to a user selection, a patient visit type,a visit appointment date and time, a service, and/or an activity may beselected. For example, via for example a graphical user interface, apatient visit type may be selected from a list including, for example:routine physical, lab work, testing, counseling, out-patient procedure,etc. A visit appointment date and time may be selected from a graphicaluser interface resembling, for example, a calendar and/or clock.Services and/or activities may be selected from a list including, forexample: measure blood pressure, measure weight, draw blood sample,provide exercise counseling, etc.

At activity 2400, a scheduling form may be populated with the obtainedand/or selected information, such as the patient identificationinformation, patient visit type, visit appointment date and time,service, and/or activity.

At activity 2500, the populated scheduling form may be communicated to arecipient application to enable a user of that application to schedule apatient visit, via for example a graphical user interface.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a method 3000 ofthe present invention. Note that although various activities arepresented in a numbered sequence, and are connected with arrows to anexemplary embodiment of method 3000, there is no general requirementthat the activities be performed in any particular order or anyparticular number of times, or that all activities be performed.Moreover, any activity may be performed automatically and/or manually.Also, any activity may be combined and/or performed in conjunction withany activity of any other method described herein.

At activity 3100, a image of a first anatomical feature, such as thatfound in an anatomy treatise or textbook, may be scanned. For example,the first anatomical feature could be a human heart. Once generated viathe scanning process, the resulting image may be stored as a firstelectronic image file in repository of such image files. Alternatively,the first electronic image file may be generated via obtaining clip artof the desired first anatomical feature.

At activity 3200, the first image file may be imported into anelectronic document, such as via a “copy” and “paste” routine.Alternatively, the first image file itself may be utilized as theelectronic document.

At activity 3300, via for example a graphical user interface, theelectronic document may be modified by decomposing the image of theanatomical feature into a plurality of segments, portions, and/or viewsof the anatomical feature, such as via creating an object correspondingto a chosen segment, portion, and/or view. For example, if theanatomical feature is a human body, a portion of the body, such as theheart, could be selected by using a selection tool to draw and/or definea selection polygon and/or shape having borders that at least roughlycorrespond to the borders of the heart as visible in the apparentlyunderlying image of the human body. The pixels and/or locations withinthe borders could correspond to locations a user might click and/orselect to activate display of a linked object, such as a linked graphicimage of the selected portion of the anatomical feature. The borderedregion may be named, grouped with other bordered regions, browsed,mapped to a database element, and/or have its own linked image.

As another example, if the anatomical feature is an arterial systemand/or subsystem, such as the arteries serving the heart muscle itself,various arterial segments may be selected and assigned a correspondingobject. Thus, an object may be assigned to, for example, the mid LAD orto the distal RCA. An object may inherit characteristics from aneighboring segment object. Thus, assuming a segment object has alreadybeen defined for the upper distal RCA, characteristics of that objectmay be provided to a newly created object for the middle distal RCA.

At activity 3400, via for example a graphical user interface, the objectassociated with the portion and/or view of the first image may be linkedto a second image file, to enable navigation from the first image to thesecond image. For example, via one or more lists and/or pop-up menus ofobjects representing human body parts, organs, views, and/or systems,and/or heart components, views, and/or subsystems, the objectcorresponding to the human body may be linked to a detailed image of aheart to enable a user to navigate to the detailed image by clicking onthe image of the human body in the vicinity of the heart.

Thus, the second image could be considered a child of the parent firstimage. Any parent may have multiple children. Any child may beassociated with multiple parents. Any child may specify a parent fromwhich the child inherits one or more attributes and/or properties, suchas a window size within which the image is displayed, font for anycorresponding text, etc. Likewise, a parent may specify defaultproperties for its children. In certain embodiments, a child mayoverride such default properties. In certain embodiments, a child maynot override such default properties.

In certain embodiments, the first image may render indicators of thoseregions to which objects are associated and/or second images are linked.Such indicators may be rendered as hot spots, mouse-overs, and/or a listof regions. For example, a user may click on an icon and/or press aparticular keyboard combination and all linked regions will be displayedwith bright red borders. As another example, a user may move a pointerover a region and its border will be displayed in red, and/or a textuallabel for the region will appear, and/or an address and/or name of theimage to which the region is associated will be displayed.

In certain embodiments, a child may render indicators of each parentwith which it is associated. In certain embodiments, a child may renderan indicator of one or more branches of its family tree. That is, if thechild was rendered as a result of navigation from a grandparent image toa parent image to the child image, that navigational path may berendered. Potentially, the rendering of the navigational path mayinclude a hyperlink associated with each image in the path to enablerapid return to an image of interest. Conversely, any image may includea display of its descendants to any desired number of generations,thereby enabling rapid navigation to a particular descendant ofinterest, such as a great-grandchild image. Such a display ofdescendants may be in the form of a tree having branches with names forthe corresponding descendant and/or miniature previews of eachdescendant.

At activity 3500, a name may be associated with the modified electronicdocument that comprises the object linked to the second image file. Atactivity 3600, the modified electronic document may be stored. Incertain embodiments, portions of the modified electronic document may benamed and/or stored. For example, a user may specify that only thegraphical aspects of an electronic document are to be stored in a fileof a particular name. As another example, a user may specify the storageof only the textual aspects of an electronic document. As anotherexample, a user may specify the storage of both the graphical andtextual aspects of an electronic document, but without any objects thatlink to databases and/or other documents. In certain embodiments, aminiature preview of the electronic document may be named and/or stored,either individually and/or combined with any portion of the electronicdocument, including the entire electronic document.

In certain embodiments, the created and/or modified documentation may beassociated with, for example, a particular patient, a particularhealthcare activity, a particular procedure, and/or a particularhealthcare worker. In certain embodiments, data related to theassociated patient, healthcare activity, procedure, and/or healthcareworker may be included in the document.

In certain embodiments, activities 3300 through 3400 may be repeated foradditional segment, portions, and/or views of the first anatomicalfeature. Thus, for example, various portions of the first anatomicalfeature may be linked to detailed views of, for example, the head,brain, digestive tract, lungs, urinary tract, blood vessels, etc.

In certain embodiments, activities 3100 through 3600 may be repeatedusing the second image file as a starting point. For example, anelectronic document providing an image of the human heart may haveassociated navigable objects, each linking a different portion of theimage of the heart (such as the ventricles, arteries, veins, etc.) to adetailed image of that portion. Such a detailed image may be more thanmerely a magnification of the parent image. Instead, it may containadditional detail and/or objects not found in the parent image.

Thus, a user who views for example, the first electronic documentdisplaying the image of the human body may navigate to a detailed imageof the heart by clicking in the vicinity of the heart. When the detailedimage of the heart is rendered, the user may click in the region of theleft ventricle to cause a detailed image of the left ventricle to berendered. Thus, embodiments of method 3000 may provide customizableinteractive graphical documents.

In certain embodiments, the object may be linked and/or associated withan element of one or more databases, such as a field of a database. Forexample, clicking on a predetermined location and/or area of a graphicalimage may generate one or more queries to a database and potentiallyreturn data contained within one or more fields of the database. Incertain embodiments, the object may be defined such that selecting aparticular location and/or area of a graphical image, such as viaclicking, may allow and/or cause entry of data into a correspondingfield of one or more databases. Data entry may occur via any means,including keying, clicking, gesturing, speaking, etc. Data entry may beimplied via the nature of the defined object and/or a sequence ofpreceding events.

In certain embodiments, the object may be linked and/or associated witha location in an electronic document. For example, clicking on apredetermined location and/or area of a graphical image may cause anelectronic document to open and/or a predetermined portion of, theelectronic document to be rendered. For instance, clicking on an imageof a left ventricle in an image of a human heart could cause one or moreparagraphs from a treatise, report, or paper relating to the leftventricle to be displayed. In certain embodiments, a list of treatises,reports, and/or papers containing such paragraphs could be rendered,enabling the user to select the desired source for display.

In certain embodiments, textual information corresponding to thedisplayed anatomical feature may be rendered. For example, textualinformation associated with the heart may be displayed when an image ofthe heart is displayed. Such information may describe the names ofvarious regions of the heart, measurements, data, conditions,observations, diagnosis, recommendations, treatment plan, surgical plan,intervention plan, and/or prognosis relating to a particular patient'sheart, heart regions, and/or heart systems.

In various embodiments, the textual information may be rendered within,over, near, and/or next to the graphical image. In certain embodiments,the textual information may be rendered independently of the graphicalinformation, such as in a separate window that may be opened and closedwhile viewing the electronic document containing the image.

In certain embodiments, graphical images may appear to overlay othergraphical images. For instance, a graphical image showing an arterialview of the heart may include an image of a stent that has beenprescribed and/or implanted as an intervention for a stenosis condition.Either displayed with the arterial view, or by clicking on image of thestent included in the arterial view, textual information regarding thestent may be rendered, such as for example, its dimensions, materials,features, manufacturer, brand, style, item number, implantationtechnique, date of implantation, implantation location, currentlocation, etc.

In certain embodiments, a graphical user interface providing varioustools may be provided for drawing and/or placing various shapes and/orimages such that they appear over the apparently underlying image file.For example, when an image of the arterial system of the heart isrendered, a toolbox containing various types of stent objects may alsobe displayed, allowing the viewer to place an object comprising an imageof a stent over an appropriate location of the arterial image. The stentmay be anchored to one or more particular locations in the underlyingimage. For example, both ends of the stent may be anchored to desiredlocations in the underlying artery.

Continuing with the stent example, in certain embodiments, the exemplarystent object may be linked to various textual data regarding the stent.For example, upon selecting a stent object from the toolbox, a user maybe queried for the type and/or manufacturer of the desired stent bypresenting a list of stent types and/or manufacturers. In certainembodiments, the user may specify as much or as little information aboutthe stent as is appropriate for the particular situation, with theoption to specify additional and/or different information at a latertime.

In certain embodiments, the selection of an object, such as the stent,may be linked to one or more databases, such as a supplies inventorydatabase. Thus, selection of an object may potentially indicate that oneor more physical objects corresponding to the selected electronic objecthave been used, consumed, and/or removed from inventory, potentiallytriggering re-ordering of the physical object to restore the inventory.Similarly, selection of an object may indicate that certain proceduresmay and/or will be performed, thereby potentially defining certainphysical tasks to be performed. For example, selection of a stent mayindicate that the stent was implanted, implying that various surgicaltools were utilized, and implying that those surgical tools should beexpected to soon arrive at a cleaning facility for sterilization. Suchinformation may guide management of activities at the cleaning facility.

Depending on and/or corresponding to the displayed anatomical feature,other objects may be provided on a palette or toolbox, for augmentingthe underlying image to better reflect a particular patient's situation.Such objects may include anatomical variations (e.g., tilted bladder,enlarged ventricle, muscular atrophy, osteoporosis, etc.), anatomicalinjuries (e.g., a collapsed lung, broken bone, torn miniscus, scartissue, etc.), anatomical diseases (e.g., cirrhosis, ulcer, cloggedartery, etc.), and/or surgical and/or diagnosis techniques (e.g., anappendectomy, laparoscopy, endoscopy, etc.). For example, an object maybe selected that overlays an image of a colon with attached normalappendix with an image of a colon with an inflamed appendix. As anotherexample, an object may be selected that overlays an image of a colonwith attached normal appendix with an image of a colon with a removedappendix. As yet another example, an object may be selected thatprovides an image of an endoscope that may be manipulated to correspondto the contours of an underlying colon.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a method 4000 ofthe present invention. Note that although various activities arepresented in a numbered sequence, and are connected with arrows to anexemplary embodiment of method 4000, there is no general requirementthat the activities be performed in any particular order or anyparticular number of times, or that all activities be performed.Moreover, any activity may be performed automatically and/or manually.Also, any activity may be combined and/or performed in conjunction withany activity of any other method described herein.

At activity 4100, patient identification information may be received bya user, and entered into a computer interface, such as a graphical userinterface. Alternatively, the patient identification information may bereceived by a computer system.

At activity 4200, user navigable graphical documentation may beretrieved and rendered to a user. Such documentation may be createdusing any appropriate method, including method 3000.

At activity 4300, via for example a graphical user interface, the usernavigable graphical documentation may be updated to reflect a patientcondition, including measurements, data, observations, diagnoses,recommendations, treatment plans, surgical plans, intervention plans,and/or prognoses. In certain embodiments, the documentation may includedata related to a particular healthcare activity, a particularprocedure, and/or a particular healthcare worker.

At activity 4400, upon user command and/or automatically, the updateddocumentation may be stored in association with the patient's medicalrecords.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a system 5000 ofthe present invention. As an initial matter, it suffices to say that,using the description of any of methods 1000, 2000, 3000, and/or 4000,one of ordinary skill in the art may implement the functionality of anyof methods 1000, 2000, 3000, and/or 4000 via system 5000 utilizing anyof a wide variety of well-known architectures, hardware, protocols,and/or software. Thus, the following description of system 5000 may beviewed as illustrative, and unless specified otherwise, should not beconstrued to limit the implementation of any of methods 1000, 2000,3000, and/or 4000, and/or the scope of any claims attached hereto.

System 5000 may comprise one or more information devices 5100, 5200,5300 inter-connected via a network 5400. Any of information devices5100, 5200, 5300 may have any number of databases coupled thereto. Forexample, information device 5100 may be coupled to and/or host databases5120 and 5140, information device 5200 may be coupled to and/or hostdatabase 5220, and/or information device 5300 may be coupled to and/orhost databases 5320 and 5340. Moreover, any information device may actas a bridge, gateway, and/or server of its databases to any otherinformation device. Thus, for example, information device 5100 mayaccess database 5320 via information device 5300.

A scanner 5160 may be coupled to any of information devices 5100, 5200,5300. Network 5400 may be any type of communications network, including,for example, a packet switched, connectionless, IP, Internet, intranet,LAN, WAN, connection-oriented, switched, and/or telephone network.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of an informationdevice 6000 of the present invention. Information device 6000 mayrepresent any of information devices 5100, 5200, 5300 of FIG. 5. Incertain embodiments, information device 6000 may be implemented on ageneral purpose or special purpose computer, such as a personalcomputer, workstation, server, minicomputer, mainframe, supercomputer,laptop, and/or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), etc., a programmedmicroprocessor or microcontroller and/or peripheral integrated circuitelements, an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a hardware electroniclogic circuit such as a discrete element circuit, and/or a programmablelogic device such as a PLD, PLA, FPGA, or PAL, or the like, etc. Ingeneral any device on which resides a finite state machine capable ofimplementing at least a portion of a method described herein may be usedfor information device 6000.

Information device 6000 may include well-known components such as one ormore communication interfaces 6100, one or more processors 6200, one ormore memories 6300 containing instructions 6400, and/or one or moreinput/output (I/O) devices 6500, etc.

In various embodiments, communication interface 6100 may be and/orinclude a bus, connector, network adapter, wireless network interface,wired network interface, modem, radio receiver, transceiver, and/orantenna, etc.

Each processor 6200 may be a commercially available general-purposemicroprocessor. In certain embodiments, the processor may be anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or a Field ProgrammableGate Array (FPGA) that has been designed to implement in its hardwareand/or firmware at least a part of a method in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

Memory 6300 may be coupled to processor 6200 and may comprise any devicecapable of storing analog or digital information, such as a hard disk,Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), flash memory, acompact disk, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a magnetic tape, a floppydisk, and any combination thereof. Memory 6300 may also comprise adatabase, an archive, and/or any stored data and/or instructions. Forexample, memory 6300 may store instructions 6400 adapted to be executedby processor 6200 according to one or more activities of a method of thepresent invention.

Instructions 6400 may be embodied in software, which may take any ofnumerous forms that are well known in the art, including for example,Visual Basic by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. Instructions6400 may control operation of information device 6000 and/or one or moreother devices, systems, or subsystems coupled thereto.

I/O device 6500 may be an audio and/or visual device, including, forexample, a monitor, display, indicator, light, keyboard, keypad,touchpad, pointing device, microphone, speaker, telephone, fax, videocamera, camera, scanner, and/or printer, including a port to which anI/O device may be attached, connected, and/or coupled.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a user interface 7000of the present invention. User interface 7000 may render an image 7010of a scanned healthcare form, such as a new patient data form that mightbe used for creating a medical record file for a new patient, and/or foradmitting a new patient. Image 7010 might include a logo 7100 of thehealthcare provider, a title for the form, and various fields 7300, suchas fields for last name 7310, first name 7320, middle name 7330, socialsecurity number 7340, street address 7350, city 7360, state 7370, zipcode 7380, and/or home telephone number 7390.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a user interface 8000of the present invention. User interface 8000 may render an image of atoolbox, window, or palette 8100, that may include various tools orcontrols for creating, specifying, and/or manipulating objects to beassociated with an electronic document that includes image 7010 of FIG.7. Such controls may include tools for creating a label (L) 8250, textbox (TB) 8200, combo box (CB) 8350, list box (LB) 8300, linked image8400, object property 8500, and/or object criteria 8600. A save tool8700 may also be provided for commanding that a document be saved.

To create a template, a user can, for example, select “New Template”from a “Template” menu. From toolbox 8100, the user may click on adesired control and drag it into position on the new template to addthat control to the new template.

The user may change properties of the selected control and/or thetemplate as desired. For example, a user may specify an appearance,background color, background style, border style, foreground color,font, font style, font size, alignment, line spacing, indent, maximumdata length, validation, query, cursor type, pointer type, autosizing,position, and/or dimension, etc. for a control. A control may beassociated with a database field. Data entry via the control may beprompted by a query. Data entry via the control may be validated.Searches of the database may be performed using one or more queriesentered via one or more controls.

As another example, a user may specify a name, start-up behavior, accesscontrol, password, window type, window position, horizontal dimension,vertical dimension, data entry order, tab order, page breaks, header,footer, etc. for the template.

A template may be associated with a category and/or group of templates.For example, an EKG template may be associated with a category, group,folder, and/or sub-directory of cardiology templates. Via for example atemplate browser, templates may be moved from one category and/or groupto another, opened, renamed, modified, and/or deleted. Moreover, via forexample a template brower, access control for one or more templatesand/or groups of templates may be specified.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a user interface 9000of the present invention. User interface 9000 may display an object,such as template object A 9100 that has been created using a controlfrom toolbox 8100 of FIG. 8 “over” a scanned form image 7010 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a user interface10000 of the present invention. User interface 10000 may display a listof objects 10100, such as template objects A, B, and C. Moreover, userinterface 10000 may display information 10200 regarding an objectselected from list 10100, such as the object name 10300, an associateddatabase field 10400, and/or a data type 10500 (e.g., character,variable-length character, integer, and/or boolean, etc.).

FIG. 11 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a user interface11000 of the present invention. User interface 11000 may display textualinformation 11100 and/or graphical information 11200, such as an imageof an anatomical feature, for example, an image of a human body. Textualinformation 11100 may identify a navigation path through graphicalinformation 11200, for example.

FIG. 12 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a user interface12000 of the present invention. User interface 12000 may display textualinformation 12100 that overlays and/or is linked to graphicalinformation 12200. For example, user interface 12000 may provide agraphical image of a human heart 12200, areas of which may be labeledvia descriptive textual information 12100. Any portion of graphicalinformation 12200 (such as the left ventricle area) and/or textualinformation 12100 (such as the “left ventricle” label) may behyperlinked to a detailed image and/or textual information correspondingto that particular portion.

An example of such a detailed image and textual information is providedin FIG. 13, which is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a userinterface 13000 of the present invention. User interface 13000 mayinclude graphical information 13200, such as an image of at least aportion of an arterial system serving a human heart. In addition, userinterface 13000 may include textual information 13100, such as textuallabels of various components of that arterial system (such as, forexample, the RCA (right common iliac artery), and the Cx (circumflexcoronary artery)). Moreover, textual information 13100 may also includetextual navigational and/or notational information.

FIG. 14 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a user interface14000 of the present invention. User interface 14000 may display textualinformation 14100 and/or graphical information 14200. Textualinformation 14100 may communicate, for example, observations, notes,measurements, data, considerations, and/or recommendations regarding ananatomical component and/or feature 14110, an investigated aspect ofthat anatomical component and/or feature 14120, a diagnosis 14130, anintervention and/or treatment plan 14140, an inter-intervention and/orinter-treatment condition, a post-intervention and/or post-treatmentsituation 14150. Graphical information 14200 may comprise an image, suchas an image of an anatomical component and/or feature of concern 14210,and may include additional graphical information, such as stent 14220,and/or textual information 14160.

FIG. 15 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a user interface15000 of the present invention. User interface 15000 may display textualinformation 15100 and/or graphical information 15200. Textualinformation 15100 and/or graphical information 15200 may communicate,for example, observations, notes, measurements, data, considerations,and/or recommendations regarding an anatomical component and/or feature,an investigated aspect of that anatomical component and/or feature, adiagnosis, an intervention and/or treatment plan, an inter-interventionand/or inter-treatment condition, a post-intervention and/orpost-treatment situation. Graphical information 15200 also may comprisean image, such as an image of an anatomical component and/or feature ofconcern, a surgical procedure, and/or medical device (such as a stent).

Although the invention has been described with reference to specificembodiments thereof, it will be understood that numerous variations,modifications and additional embodiments are possible, and accordingly,all such variations, modifications, and embodiments are to be regardedas being within the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, thedrawings and descriptions are to be regarded as illustrative in nature,and not as restrictive.

1. A method for creating an electronic form for soliciting informationfor use in healthcare management, comprising the activities of:initiating generation of at least one display image supporting a userin: selecting a template form for soliciting information, from arepository of template forms, modifying a data type of a data fieldwithin said selected template form to produce said electronic form forsoliciting information for use in healthcare management by linking auser selected object chosen from a predetermined list of objects with auser selected data field of said selected template form, objects in saidpredetermined list being automatically derived and provided in responseto at least one of, (a) a particular role of a healthcare worker and (b)a particular treatment activity being performed in providing healthcareto a patient, said selected object being usable in determining a queryto be used in soliciting data for entry in said user selected data fieldand associating a name with said electronic form for solicitinginformation; and storing said electronic form in response to usercommand.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said query is fordisplay in said user selected data field.
 3. A method according to claim1, wherein said at least one display image supports a user in creatingsaid selected object by enabling a user to select a related object fromsaid predetermined list and by at least one of, (a) selecting a datatype for a created object, and (b) entering a name for said createdobject.
 4. A method according to claim 3, further comprising theactivity of: including said object name in said predetermined list.
 5. Amethod according to claim 1, wherein said selected object supportscategorizing data solicited for entry in said user selected data field.6. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the activity of: inresponse to user selection of said modified form, associating said formwith at least one of, (a) a particular patient and (b) a particularhealthcare worker and pre-populating said modified form with dataassociated with at least one of, (i) said particular patient and (ii)said particular healthcare worker and said particular treatment activityis performed by a worker having a particular role in providinghealthcare to a patient.
 7. A method according to claim 1, furthercomprising the activity of: associating said query with said userselected data field.
 8. A method according to claim 1, furthercomprising the activity of: rendering said query upon a user-causedevent.
 9. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the activityof: rendering said query upon entry of a cursor into said user selecteddata field.
 10. A system embodied on a computer-readable media forimplementing claim 1 wherein said activity of initiating generation ofat least one display image is performed using a display processor andsaid display processor stores said modified form in said repository. 11.A graphical user interface, embodied on a computer-readable media, forcreating an electronic form for soliciting information for use inhealthcare management, said graphical user interface comprising: agraphical listing of a plurality of selectable template forms forsoliciting information; a selected template form from the plurality ofselectable template forms; a graphical linking element adapted to modifya data type of a data field within said selected template form bylinking a user selected object from a predetermined list of objects witha user selected data field of said selected template form to producesaid electronic form for soliciting information for use in healthcaremanagement, objects in said predetermined list being automaticallyderived and provided in response to at least one of, (a) a particularrole of a healthcare worker and (b) a particular treatment activitybeing performed by a worker having a particular role in providinghealthcare to a patient, said selected object being usable indetermining a query to be used in soliciting data for entry in said userselected data field; and a graphical rendering of a name associated withsaid electronic form for soliciting information.
 12. A computer-readablemedia containing instructions for activities comprising: initiatinggeneration of at least one display image supporting a user in, selectinga template form from a repository of template forms for solicitinginformation, modifying a data type of a data field within said selectedtemplate form to produce an electronic form for soliciting informationfor use in healthcare management by linking a user selected objectchosen from a predetermined list of objects with a user selected datafield of said selected template form, objects in said predetermined listbeing automatically derived and provided in response to at least one of,(a) a particular role of a healthcare worker and (b) a particulartreatment activity being performed in providing healthcare to a patient,said selected object being usable in determining a query to be used insoliciting data for entry in said user selected data field andassociating a name with said electronic form for soliciting information;and storing said electronic form in response to user command.
 13. Amethod for scheduling a patient for receiving a particular service viaat least one displayed image comprising an electronic template form,comprising the activities of: receiving patient identificationinformation; initiating retrieval of said template form for use inscheduling a visit; automatically deriving a predetermined list of aavailable visit types in response to at least one of, (a) a particularrole of a healthcare worker and (b) a particular treatment activitybeing performed in providing healthcare to a patient; automaticallymodifying a visit type data field in the retrieved template form bylinking a particular patient visit type from the predetermined list ofavailable visit types with a visit type data field; in response to userselection of a visit type data field in the modified template form,selecting a particular patient visit type from the predetermined list ofavailable visit types linked with said visit type data field; inresponse to user selection of an appointment data field in the modifiedtemplate form, selecting a particular visit appointment time and datefrom a predetermined list of available appointment times and dateslinked with said appointment data field; in response to user selectionof a service selection data field in the modified template form,selecting a particular service from a predetermined list of availableservices linked with said service selection data field; populating themodified template form with information comprising said patientidentification information, said visit type, said appointment time anddate and said particular service; and initiating scheduling of saidvisit by communicating the populated modified template form informationto a recipient application in response to user command.
 14. The methodof claim 13, further comprising the activity of: receiving said list ofavailable visit types and wherein said particular treatment activity isperformed by a worker having a particular role in providing healthcareto a patient.
 15. The method of claim 13, further comprising theactivity of: linking said list of available visit types with said visittype data field.
 16. The method of claim 13, further comprising theactivity of: receiving said list of available appointment times anddates.
 17. The method of claim 13, further comprising the activity of:linking said list of available appointment times and dates with saidappointment data field.
 18. The method of claim 13, further comprisingthe activity of: receiving said list of available services.
 19. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising the activity of: linking saidlist of available services with said service selection data field, saidlist of available services being indicated in an automatically providedpredetermined list derived in response to at least one of, (a) aparticular role of a healthcare worker and (b) a particular treatmentactivity being performed in providing healthcare to a patient.
 20. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising the activity of: creating saidscheduling form.
 21. A system embodied on a computer-readable media forimplementing claim 13, wherein said activity of initiating retrieval ofa template form is performed using a display processor and said displayprocessor stores said modified form in said repository.
 22. A graphicaluser interface, embodied on a computer-readable media, for scheduling apatient for receiving a particular service via at least one displayedimage, comprising: a processor for automatically modifying a visit typedata field in an electronic form by linking a particular patient visittype from the predetermined list of available visit types with a visittype data field in response to user selection of a particular patientvisit type; a graphical and user-selectable visit type data field in theelectronic form for selecting a particular patient visit type from apredetermined list of available visit types linked with said visit typedata field, said predetermined list of available visit types beingautomatically derived and provided in response to at least one of, (a) aparticular role of a healthcare worker and (b) a particular treatmentactivity being performed in providing healthcare to a patient; agraphical and user-selectable appointment data field in the electronicform for selecting a particular visit appointment time and date from apredetermined list of available appointment times and dates linked withsaid appointment data field; a graphical and user-selectable serviceselection data field in the electronic form for selecting a particularservice from a predetermined list of available services linked with saidservice selection data field; and a processor for populating theelectronic form with said patient identification information, said visittype, said appointment time and date, and said particular service.
 23. Acomputer-readable media containing instructions for activitiescomprising: receiving patient identification information; initiatingretrieval of a template form for use in scheduling a visit;automatically deriving a predetermined list of available visit types inresponse to at least one of, (a) a particular role of a healthcareworker and (b) a particular treatment activity being performed inproviding healthcare to a patient; automatically modifying a visit typedata field in the retrieved template form by linking a particularpatient visit type from the predetermined list of available visit typeswith a visit type data field; in response to user selection of a visittype data field in the modified template form, selecting a particularpatient visit type from the predetermined list of available visit typeslinked with said visit type data field; in response to user selection ofan appointment data field in the modified template form, selecting aparticular visit appointment time and date from a predetermined list ofavailable appointment times and dates linked with said appointment datafield; in response to user selection of a service selection data fieldin the modified template form, selecting a particular service from apredetermined list of available services linked with said serviceselection data field; populating the modified template with said patientidentification information, said visit type, said appointment time anddate and said particular service; and initiating scheduling of saidvisit by communicating the populated modified template form informationto a recipient application in response to user command.
 24. A method forcreating an electronic healthcare management form for solicitinginformation comprising the activities of: initiating generation of atleast one display image supporting a user in, loading an image file intoan electronic form file, the image file corresponding to a scannedhealthcare management form for soliciting information; modifying a datatype of a data field within said scanned healthcare management form bydesignating a plurality of regions of the electronic form file as aplurality of form objects, each of the plurality of form objectsassociated with a data solicitation query; for each form object from theplurality of form objects, associating the form object with one of apredetermined list of database fields, form objects in saidpredetermined list being automatically derived and provided in responseto at least one of (a) a particular role of a healthcare worker and (b)a particular patient healthcare treatment activity; and storing theelectronic form file.